The Gift of Girlfriends

I have the fortune in my life of having long term good girlfriends. When I am with a dear friend even if it has been a long time since we’ve been together, we easily pick back up right where we left off.

And, I feel like I am home again.

I’ve been gathering with a group of women I once worked with for over 20 years! We’ve celebrated marriages, babies and grand babies, retirements, and birthdays. We’ve provided support through the storms in one another s lives too. We’ve laughed and cried together. We can be silly and serious. We can just be who were are and be loved for it—no matter what.

Women know women in ways men simply can’t do.

It saddens me when I hear a woman say she hasn’t any girlfriends or that her experience with other women hasn’t been a positive one. It must be so very lonely to be in her shoes.

Women just know how to simply be with one another. We know the female experience; understand our needs and what drives us. We fulfill that deep need we all have for belonging in our relationships with other women.

Friendships with other women that span a period of time provide a stabilizing force.

It does take time and energy to cultivate and maintain friendships. I invest in me by giving this an importance. I simply can’t imagine how I would have gotten through my life including my childhood without my girlfriends.

I am richer for having had every one of my girlfriends in my life and along side me in my life’s journey.

In this season of Thanksgiving, I am very grateful for the gift of girlfriends in my life. I am thankful for and to each one of you!

Questions for women: what has your experience been with girlfriends in your life? What can you do to cultivate friendships with other women?